N. Oregon Coast History Talk Digs Into 100-Year-Old Seaside Aquarium Building

Published 11/12/24 at 5:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Each last Thursday of every month there's a new trip through time. History & Hops is the monthly feature hosted by Seaside Museum at Seaside Brewing Co., bringing a new chapter in Oregon coast's distinctive past. (The aquarium in the 1950s)

This time around, on Thursday, November 21, the talk is “100 Years of the Seaside Aquarium Building.”

The Seaside Aquarium is the oldest privately-owned Aquarium on the West Coast. The aquarium opened for business in 1937, but the building itself was erected in 1924. What was the original purpose of the structure? A natatorium – one of those heated salt water baths that were crazy popular on the Oregon coast back then.

At 6 p.m., Keith Chandler and Tiffany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium will be presenting a history of the building; what it was 100 years ago, what it is now, and what the future may hold. They will also be leaning into the history of Natatoriums and their presence on this coast from about 1910 to the early 1930s.

History & Hops is supported by the Seaside Museum, the Seaside Public Library, and Seaside Brewing Co.

The building opened up to the public on August 9, 1924, as a natatorium – possibly the last around the Oregon coast. There were others in Rockaway Beach, Cannon Beach, Newport and at the fabled Bayocean resort that fell into the sea.

Called the Seaside Baths Natatorium, it was the second such feature in Seaside, this one created by W. Arthur Viggers of Astoria – just three blocks from the Oates Natatorium. That one far outlasted the second, with this newer one hitting the skids in about 1930.

This one had a lot of unique features, including a big fountain in the middle and a loft upstairs where bands played. There was even a lunch counter about where the seals are now located.

In the '70s

After it shut down, it was a variety of other things, including a wrestling venue.

In the late '30s it became the Seaside Aquarium, which staff say it was perfect for. Various parts of the original structure are still used.

Somewhere in there, apartments were built up on the top floor and were around through the '70s. The average tourist can't see those, but Oregon Coast Beach Connection was granted access a couple of times – and it's a wildly engaging, even slightly spooky area.

Preserving Seaside’s History since 1974, the Seaside Museum & Historical Society is a non-profit educational institution with the mission to collect, preserve, and interpret materials illustrative of the history of Seaside and the surrounding area. The museum is open Wednesday - Saturday from 11 AM - 4 PM.

For further information, please contact Emily Halverson during museum hours at 503-738-7065. www.seasideoregonmuseum.com

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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